Debates of Sept. 25th, 2024

The Economy

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader is offering cuts to programs, services and the fight against climate change. These are all things that Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about.

The Conservatives have nothing to offer but austerity, along with theatrics here in the House of Commons. They will continue to push for cuts to programs like dental care and child care, as well as to investments in pharmacare and in the green economy.

We are here to invest in Canadians and Quebeckers. The Conservatives are here to make cuts.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the lowest-income Canadians are already making cuts and living under austerity. This is what a single mother wrote in Le Devoir: “I still do not have enough money to buy a home and I feel like that dream is getting further and further away from me, because the crisis keeps getting worse, home prices keep going up and everything is becoming very expensive.”

When I was the minister responsible for housing, it cost $700 a month to rent an apartment in Montreal.

Is it not time to allow Quebeckers to elect a government that will build housing?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservative leader were truly concerned about that single mother, he would not have voted against more child care spaces. He would not have voted against help for children with the Canada child benefit. He would not have voted against the investments we are making to create more economic growth for her children, to put more money in her pockets.

When he was the minister responsible for housing under Harper, he did nothing for affordable housing from one end of this country to another. We do not want a repeat of that.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.

Today, we will vote to trigger a carbon tax election between the costly carbon tax coalition of NDP-Liberals, who tax our food, punish our work, double our housing costs and unleash crime and chaos, and common-sense Conservatives who will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

Why can we not bring it home today?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again, this is a clever little performance, with slogans the member has memorized but without any actual solutions for Canadians.

The Leader of the Opposition does not care about Canadians; he cares about his own political self-interest. If he cared about Canadians, he would not have voted against dental care, he would not have voted against more spaces at $10-a-day child care and he would not have voted against initiatives that are growing the economy and putting more money in people's pockets.

He wants a climate change election. Let us have that election at the right time, where we are putting more money in the pockets of Canadians. This is not the time for that. We are going to continue to deliver for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, well, the Prime Minister just said that he wants a carbon tax election on his plan to quadruple the tax to 61¢ a litre. If so, will he call it today?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that later on today we will see that the House does not have confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party.

We have delivered and are continuing to deliver reduced emissions, more money in the pockets of Canadians and success in the fight against climate change as we create jobs and build a stronger future. We are focused on delivering for Canadians the things that actually matter, while he is focused on slogans and clapping. We are going to focus on being there for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is concerned about our clapping for him. He agreed to a carbon tax election on his quadrupling of the tax to 61¢ a litre, where Canadians will choose between an NDP-Liberal government that has taxed their food, punished their work, doubled their housing costs, and unleashed crime and chaos in their communities, or a common-sense Conservative government to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

He is bragging that he has more politicians on his side. Is it not really the case that in Canada the people decide?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, with the Canada carbon rebate, the price on pollution puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians right across the country. However, we already know from his misunderstanding of carbon pricing that the Conservative leader does not understand math or economics.

What is increasingly clear is that he does not understand science as well. That is why I would be happy to give him a briefing on the science of climate change. There is good news on this one: It does not require a security clearance for it.

Government Priorities

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois made a reasonable proposal in good faith on subjects that already have the support of all parties in the House.

I would like the Prime Minister to tell me whether he will give us his word that he will quickly consider the Bloc Québécois's proposal to help seniors and farmers.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we, on this side of the House, have already repeatedly demonstrated that our priorities include help for seniors and protecting supply management. We have shown that and will continue to do so.

We are very open to continuing to work with other members of the House to respond to the expectations of seniors and farmers.

We know that there are concerns that we can work on together, and we will do that because we are always there to help Quebeckers and all Canadians in these difficult times.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is indeed a very good opportunity to help seniors, whose purchasing power he himself reduced, as well as farmers, not only in Quebec but also in Canada. Good for them.

To be more specific, beyond the vague intentions, will the Prime Minister also start reaching out to his casual partners in the NDP to ensure that these bills actually get passed on time?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will of course look at these bills and debate them.

If we want to be more specific, I could point out that a number of seniors I spoke to in Quebec and across the country this summer told me that they had saved hundreds of dollars when they went to the dentist and were covered under the Canadian dental care program. Unfortunately, they do not understand why the Bloc Québécois does not support this care for seniors in Quebec, which has saved them hundreds of dollars.

We will always be there to try to help seniors save money.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, privatizing health care means telling people to either pay up or go to the back of the line. Danielle Smith is privatizing health care in Alberta right now, and the Prime Minister is doing nothing about it. Doug Ford is privatizing health care in Ontario, and the Prime Minister praises him.

Why is the weak Prime Minister letting Conservatives tear down our health care system?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we have always defended universal health care, and we will continue to do so, but the member opposite has a point. In those provinces, the NDP was unable to stop Conservatives from getting elected and weakening universal health care in all those places. That is why we are going to continue to stand up for universal health care, to stand up for progressive values and, indeed, to stand up to Conservatives.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has the power to stop them, but is too weak to do it.

The Conservatives want to make cuts to health care. When the Conservative leader and Stephen Harper were in power, they made almost $44 billion in cuts. The Conservatives want to privatize health care, just like Doug Ford and Danielle Smith.

Why is the Prime Minister letting them get away with it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that we are always going to defend our public health care system. We are here to invest so that Canadians have better access to family doctors. We are here to ensure that there are more mental health services. We are here to demand more transparency and accountability from the provinces when it comes to the record amounts the federal government is sending to the provinces.

We will always stand up to Conservative provinces that want to make cuts to our health care.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, actually it is the Prime Minister who is cutting health care. His carbon tax will cost hospitals across this country in heat, in laundry services and in delivering medical equipment. Calculations by the Saskatchewan government show that the carbon tax will cost $175 million, equal to the loss of 1,900 nurses, all to pay the Prime Minister's greedy, quadrupling carbon tax.

Why will the Prime Minister not get his hands out of the pockets of the provinces and allow the premiers to fund health care?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada carbon rebate puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadian families right across the country while it fights climate change and while it creates growth. Fighting climate change is about building a better future for Canadians. This summer alone, insurers are estimating that $7.7 billion in losses are being covered for that. That is something we have to step up on right now.

The Conservative leader, who does not even believe climate change is real, wants to do absolutely nothing about it. That is not good for Canadians. That is not good for our economy.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, hospitals do not get the Canada carbon rebate. A measly little cheque would not replace the $175 million that Saskatchewan hospitals are going to lose to heat their buildings, to power their machinery and to deliver their goods, and yet that is what the Prime Minister imposes. There are 1,900 nurses who could lose their jobs in one province alone because of his greedy carbon tax quadrupling.

Why will the Prime Minister not accept the Conservatives' common-sense plan to axe the tax and boost funds for health care?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will note that the Leader of the Opposition voted against our plan to increase funding on health care to $200 billion over the next 10 years because he wants a two-tier system, like most Conservative premiers in this country. The fact is that climate change will cost everyone in health outcomes, in growth outcomes, in harm to our economy and in harm to our future. He has no plan to fight climate change.

Our plan not only fights climate change but also makes emissions lower, puts more growth on the books and puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians, the middle class and those working hard to join it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that is more disinformation from a flailing and desperate Prime Minister clinging to power.

I voted in this Parliament to increase health funding, and in the previous government voted to increase it by 70%, more than the Prime Minister's government has.

More than that, Conservatives did not impose a carbon tax on hospitals. He claims that people are going to get cheques, but 1,900 nurses could lose their jobs because of the carbon tax in one province alone. A phony rebate cheque will not make the difference. Now he wants to quadruple the tax to 61¢ litre.

How many nurses are going to lose their job while hospitals are stuck paying the quadrupling tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition refers to the Canada carbon rebate as a phony cheque. At least he recognizes that it exists, which is new from just a few months ago.

The Canada carbon rebate, as investigated by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, puts more money, hundreds of dollars, back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians, the middle class and those working hard to join it, who need support, while we fight climate change, while we reduce emissions and while we grow a stronger economy with good jobs for future generations. He has no plan for the economy and no plan for the future.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my common-sense plan is to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

Let us talk about education. The carbon tax will cost Saskatchewan schools $204 million. That is the equivalent of approximately 2,000 teachers losing their job, all to pay tax to heat schools in cold Saskatchewan winters.

Why is the Prime Minister forcing provinces to cut teachers and education to pay for his greedy quadrupling carbon tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there he goes once again with his little performances, the little rhymes and slogans. The reality facing Canadians right across the country, including in Saskatchewan, is wildfires, droughts and floods, issues that are being increased because of the impacts of climate change.

If we do not continue to take ambitious action, future generations will pay dearly for inaction by governments like the government in Saskatchewan that he wants to emulate. The reality is that we put more money in people's pockets while fighting climate change, and we are going to keep doing that.